The Hindu Business Line : Financial grants to strong IIMs may go

According to highly placed sources in the ministry and in the institutes concerned, IIM-Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta may be asked to fend for themselves from this financial year.

However, assistance to three other IIMs at Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode, is likely to continue. The financial grants to the IIMs, so far, has varied from one academic year to another, depending on the revenue-expenditure gap of each IIM.

IIM-C, for example, received Rs 4 crore for 2003-04 compared to Rs 5.5 crore the previous fiscal.

The Government at the Centre now seems to believe that the older IIMs would be free to raise revenues through fees from students and corporates for placements after creating adequate opportunities for students from the economically weak sections.

Uniform fee structure for all six IIMs seems impracticable considering the social responsibility that the institutes may have to shoulder and the potential of resource generation, senior IIM officials in Ahmedabad and Kolkata pointed out.

Sources in the ministry indicated that the Government was likely to reduce the annual financial commitment to the IIMs. To ensure effective autonomy to the IIMs, the Government is, in principle, ready to reduce or withdraw its nominees/representatives from the governing boards of the institutes, sources said. However, they said this would be implemented in a phased manner and in some cases would require changes in the memorandum of association of the body that runs the particular institute.

The final decision will be taken after the boards of all IIMs communicate their views on fee structure and financial assistance to the ministry by June 25.